Ranil raises concern in P’ment over CID grilling FNSt’s Resident Rep

By Ashwin Hemmathagama

Our Lobby Correspondent

The recent arrest of Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung (FNSt) Resident Representative Sagarika Delgoda by Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for “organising a workshop for the United National Party” to help get ready for the forthcoming provincial elections in campaign management disturbed Parliament yesterday.

Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe who saw this arrest and the CID’s plans to arrest the members in due course who took part in the workshop as a “serious matter” for a country “hosting the CHOGM,” pledged that it would be taken into the international arena.

“This is a grave matter which I want to bring to your notice because of the plan to question and to take some of the members of the United National Party into custody. The UNP is a party engaged in politics; we take keen interest in campaign management and have taken part in workshops both in Sri Lanka and abroad. Recently making use of facilities which parties and ministers from both sides have used, we asked Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung to arrange a workshop on election campaign management and we had the assistance of the Director of Campaign Management. I think Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung has helped a large number of members from both sides to hold seminars, workshops and even to go abroad.  

“This workshop is a prelude for us to get ready for the provincial elections, where he gave us the benefit of his experiences in Germany as well as in some other countries. Subsequent to that there has been a campaign to say that there has been a plot to overthrow the Government. Any party engaged in electoral politics can overthrow a government by using ballot but not by the bullet. We certainly are engaged in overthrowing it by ballot.

“Yesterday the Resident Representative of the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung Sagarika Delgoda has been taken to CID and was questioned from 9 a.m. till 7.30 p.m. and asked a whole lot of questions on this issue. I am asking the relevancy of this. We certainly are getting ready for elections. Under the Constitution, we are entitled and also under the Commonwealth the first charter is political parties. You want to hold CHOGM but won’t allow political activities to go on in this country. I was told that the Police having finished questioning Delgoda will come and take some of our members. I have told the members what they have to do and seek the Speaker to instruct the Police accordingly. They have asked her whether money was given to the LTTE. We all know who gave money to the LTTE, where part of that money even didn’t go to the LTTE and what happened to it,” said Opposition Leader Wickremesinghe.